13 Years Later
by Black Kitten Chara
Summary: The winner has been crowned. So, what happened to all of the students you have come to know and love? Let's take a look at how each person, each couple experienced life through adulthood. One-shots throughout a single year, all ending on a special day. See their wonderful children and see how their lives turned out after the Academy.
1. Memories

"Since when have we had this much stuff…?"

Diamond Manceri sat on the floor of the living room, surrounded by tons of boxes. She was doing some spring cleaning, having brought boxes out of the attic to go through and sort. She had been meaning to do it for a while now, but with her job as a fashion stylist and _being a mother_, she just hadn't had the time. And her husband, Raphael, had been so busy being a paranormal investigator, with traveling to a new haunted place in the world every so often, that he hadn't been able to either.

Finally, their son was sleeping, it was Sunday where no award show was happening, and Raphael was out on a investigating job in New Orelans. She ran a hand through her black locks, which were now grown out and straighten so it would run down her back. "Alright, it's not gonna sort itself," She said to herself, and proceeded to open the box closest to her.

_Junk._ She thought. She pulled out picture frames, some old DVD's, a tape player, some old magazines, and an old dictionary. She threw the magazines in a bag to later recycle, and stacked the movies in a pile off to the side. She laughed at the picture frames, filled with photos of their younger days. The first one was hilarious. It was the first picture Diamond dragging Raphael to her family dinner with her aunt. He looked a little awkward, but was smiling nonetheless. The second photo was a head shot of her face not looking too happy next to her cruel father. The third was a baby picture of her with her mother, who was wearing a hood to keep her beauty from overhsadowing her child. She smiled and put them off to the side.

The next box she opened was full of knick-knacks, random souvenirs they had acquired over the years. It had keychains, mini-figurines, plaques, magnets, and even a bobble head from that time Raphael went to Chicago. She left the contents of the box untouched and put it aside.

She continued this routine up, throwing out old junk, organizing what she deemed keep able and folding the boxes to recycle later. Diamond was about to open another box when she heard the patter of small footsteps behind her.

"…Mommy?"

Diamond turned and smiled. Her five-year old, Adonis, stood in the entrance of the living room, curly black hair sticking up in all directions, he small fist rubbing one of his brown eyes. He had lighter brown skin than his mother, with a cute dimpled smile that made the formerly spoiled girl melt.

"Why are you up?" Diamond asked as her son ran to her, looking a little scared.

"Momma, I saw a ghost. Can I sleep with you tonight?" Adonis asked so sweetly that it melted Diamond's heart.

The daughter of Aphrodite smiled as she picked up her son and looked at the clock on the wall. _10:30_, it said.

Diamond sighed as she decided to work on cleaning all of this up tomorrow, while she had so time before she had to go into work at twelve. She looked down to see Adonis already passed out on her shoulder, drooling a little like his father does.

She kissed her son's head as she walked into the master bedroom and laid him down on the bed, covering him up with the comforter and turning off the light on his side. Then she replaced her coral top and white jeans with a tank top and a pair of boy shorts, before slipping on to the bed and grabbing her notebook form her drawer.

The twenty-nine year old woman smiled as she opened the notebook to reveal more pictures of her and her husband. The first few pages was of them at the camp the Academy had provided for them after they were eliminated from the show. Then it showed of them dating a little after she moved to New York, then of them just married and living in a shabby apartment, and then of Adonis as a baby.

She smiled as she remembered how her life came to be after the show. At first, she thought everything was going downhill becasue of her father disowned her for not winning the show. She had beg with him to see some sense, but he wouldn't listen and even called her a lose cause.

She had ran out of his office crying, but not before she heard him yelling for her to pack her bags and that she is moving to her aunt's house in Amityville, New York. She cried even harder that night, knowing her father now completely hates her and there was no amount of love magic that her mother could provide that would make him think otherwise.

When she moved to Amityville, she was happy about seeing her Aunt Mina because she retreated out of all of the media attention her brother was getting. After the first few days, Diamond was miserable not because she didn't have the life of a rich kid but because she still felt her father's cruel words in her heart and she knew the only reason she was here because it was further away from Beverly Hills.

But then she went to school and found out Raphael was there.

Both of them were excited to be together again and he actually comforted her when she broke down after shcool, when she was teased by a former friend who used to live in Beverly Hills. They continued dating for a long time, even winning a place as Cutest Couple, much to the dismay of Raphael and the delight of Diamond.

After getting married at the tender age of 20, knowing that most dmeigods don't last very long in the world, both became very sucessful businessman people despite living in that shabby apartment that happened to by cheap and closer to Raphael's work.

Raphael started working for a paranormal investigator business at the age of 22, where the owner actually may people pay for the person they get then the owner would pay that person who went on the job half of the money he got the people to pay. As was Raphael was the best in his company, having that ghost seeing ability of his, he got hired the most and brought home an amazing paycheck every month that would last them through the next month.

Diamond began working in the fashion business, her passion in life. She designed her own wedding dress, including those of her friends from the show, and loved dressing up her own son and pets. She started out working for bigger name stylist, but soon moved up to one of the top stylist herself and even started two fashion lines within a year, thanks to her powers as Aphrodite's daughter. Soon, she was bringing home a wonderful paycheck as well as her husband.

Then along came Adonis.

If you asked her, Diamond wouldn't say they didn't want a child or even that their child was a mistake. As she looked through his baby pictures, she thought about what she called him; _A happy surprise._ They weren't planning on having a child, but were excited when they had their son, who was healthly and beautiful.

_"Well, of course he is handsome. His grandmother is Aphrodite and look at his mom!"_ Diamond remembered herself saying to her Aunt Mina when she called Adonis the most beautiful baby ever.

_"Give it up, Dia."_ She remembered Raphael saying right after she said that. That night, he almost slept on the couch if he didn't treat his wife to a dinner while Aunt Mina babysat for them.

Around eleven, Diamond put upthe scrapbook and laid across the bed without putting the covers on. She saw her cat Glimmer's kitten, Snowflake is what she named it because it had whiter fur than Glimmer, on the foot of the bed sleeping.

She smiled as she fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.

**~0~**

Diamond woke up to someone crawling on the bed. Someone tall, muscular, and at least thrity by the sound of their voice groaning as they laid down.

She gripped the sheets for a moment as she waited for them to bed right next to her. She waited as the bed dipped from the weight of the person, and she knew that this was her only chance to attack before this stranger did something to her or Adonis.

She pressed her foot against the man's chest, grabbed him by the arms and throwing him against the floor. Then she straddled his back as she twisted his arm behind him and kept his other arm under him. She looked at him with murderous eyes, which were now red, and whispered in an angry tone "Who the hell are you?!"

The man groaned in pain as he murmured, "Dia... It's me..."

Diamond knew that voice anywhere, but she was still unsure. She twisted his arm harder as she asked, "If you are Raphael, then why did I name our child Adonis when you wanted to name him Carter?"

"Because... OW!... You said that was the name of the most beautiful young man in Greek mythology and you wanted our son to embodied that name well. Plus, like hell am I going to beat you in an argument when you can charmspeak." Raphael asnwered right away.

Diamond loosen her grip as her husband cawrled from under her and rubbed his bruised arm. She couldn't helo but giggle a little, knowing her strong and handsome husband just got beaten up by her. He pretended to glare at her in the dark as he said, "Not funny..."

She rolled her eyes as she helped him up and turned on the light. A small noise came from the bed as Adonis woke up and rubbed his brown eyes. Raphael smiled as he went over to his side of the bed and picked up his sleepy five-year-old son, who was just realizing what was going on.

"Daddy!" Adonis yelled, now fully awake. He hugged his father's neck as he almost dropped his stuffed jackel, but Raphael caught it in time.

Adonis hugged his father as Diamond sat back on the bed and asked, "Did you have a good trip?"

"Yeah. Same thing. Someone was scared over some dead people, no curses on the place." Raphael said as he sat down on the bed, while Adonis pulled at the ears of his toy jackel and listening to his father. "The mansion I went to was just a one before the 1853 yellow fever epidemic happened. Turns out a lot of people died in that house, but they just wanted to stay on Earth a little longer. I got them going right along after a few hours."

"That is awesome, Daddy! Did the ghosts scare you?" Adonis asked in that sweet voice of his.

"No, but I know of a little boy who would have ran." Raphael said as he smirked at his son.

Adonis crossed his arms and puffed his cheeks, trying to look tough but made his motger laugh instead. "I am not afraid of ghosts!" He jumped off the bed and grabbed Snowflake from the floor, which he must of fell on during the last few hours. Then he took a sheet and placed it over the cat.

But before Adonis could scare the cat, Raphael picked him up and said, "No, Adonis. You have to go to bed tonight."

"But Daddy. I wanna be brave like you." Adonis said as he pouted his lip just like his mother would.

Raphel forced himself not to give in, trying to be the stronger parent for a moment as he said, "No, Adonis Manceri. If you don't get into bed, then we won't let you play with Seraphina for a week."

Adonis' eyes went big as struggled from his father's grip. He ran into his room and jumped into bed, covering himself up as he turned off the lamp in his room and closed his eyes. Raphael smiled at his son sleeping as he closed the dor to his own bedroom and fell straight down on the bed.

Diamond smiled at him as she placed a hand on his neck, "That hard of a mission, huh?"

"Yeah. Turns out that there was one very pissed off spirit and he ended up possessing one of the tour guides. It wasn't fun handling with him, but the other ghosts were willing to go." The son of Anubis explained.

"That is good. Are you hungry?"

"Not really. The airplane food wasn't that bad and plus I was starving by the time I got on the plane, so I was willing to eat anything. How was your week?" Raphael asked, looking at his wife.

"Good. Adonis has been torturing the cat and hanging around Seraphina, so nothing new on the home front. I do have to design five actresses next week for an award show, so I may not get home until late next week." Diamond explained as she began playing with her husband's hair.

Raphael gave her an odd look and smiled, asking "What are you doing?"

"Nothing."

"Weirdo"

"I love you too."

Raphael bursted out laughing, never getting tired of their playful banter. They always seem to keep each other smiling and joking, even if someone was not in the mood at all that night. Diamond stuck her tongue out at him when something caught her eye, which was now blue.

A small bundle was covered in a white sheet, standing behind the footboard and trying to spy on them. Diamond smirked as she tapped Raphael on the shoulder and pointed to the small creature spying on them. He turned around and looked at it as well, smiling as he knew exactly who that was.

Raphael slipped off the bed and almost stepped on Snowflake, scaring the poor thing. Diamond was pretty sure by the time Adonis starts 3rd grade, that cat will be in therapy or something.

The son of Anubis stood next to the creature as it turned to look at the older man. "Well, well. Looks like we have a rouge ghost in our own home, Dia. It seems I need to send it to Anubis and have him judge this lost soul." Raphael said in an almost teasing tone.

The creature took off the sheet to reveal itself as Adonis, who had his cheeks huffed up. "How did you know it was me, Daddy?"

Raphael laughed a little as he picked up his son and smooth out his curly black locks. "Well, there was the fact you used a bedsheet and that you make a pretty cute ghost."

"Really?!" Adonis said as he struggled out of Raphael's grip. He grabbed the bedsheet and placed it over his head.

Diamond watched from the bed as Adonis went over to the cat and began making ghost sounds. Snowflake arched his back nad hissed before running off, with Adonis chasing after him and making those ghost sounds still. Raphael shook his head as he chased after his son, praying that he didn't break anything or kill the cat. Adonis could be heard either laughing or making ghost sounds in the two-story home then lived in.

Diamond could do nothing but smile. These were memories she would keep forever.


	2. Sick on Christmas Morning

**Black Kitten Chara: Okay, here is the second chapter to my epilogue stories. For anyone who celebrates any other holiday other than Christmas, I am so sorry but I didn't want to insult anyone by getting facts wrong about their holidays. So, I stuck with Chirstmas.**

* * *

It was a beautiful Christmas morning, with pure white and sparkling snow covering in the ground in a flawless manner. The trees and plants also had some amount of snow on them, the a sheer layer of ice covering the trees and plants as it has for months now. Even though the sun would be shining soon in the clear sky as it was still nighttime, the harsh winds would freeze anyone who will step outside for even a moment. Roads and sidewalks had a thin layer of ice on them and everything was frozen over, either in appearance or touch or both. But all in all, it was a beautiful morning, even for Christmas.

And to be woken up by a hit on the head with a book on this Christmas morning was not how Charlie Davis expected.

The 28-year-old adult jumped straight up from the couch he was sleeping on, seeing a cute five-year-old girl standing next to the bed with a hardback picture book in her hands. Her long, dark brown hair that ended in ringlets was messy and her almond-shaped emerald eyes were sleepy still. The girl, with her natural tanned skin, wore a pink nightgown and held her arms out while the book she used to brain her father fell to the ground.

"Sereaphina, why are you up so early?" Charlie asked as he checked the time, showing it was _4:00_ in the morning.

"Daddy, it is Christmas. And why are you sleeping on the couch?" Seraphina asked in her cute, angelic voice.

Charlie rubbed the sore spot on his head, thinking about what happened last night. He remembered his wife of six years, Emerson, had contacted the flu last night while visiting his half-sister in New Jersey. She swore up and down that his half-sister had poisoned her, which could be true since Charlie's half-sister didn't like Emerson. So, when her husband tried to crawl into bed, she pushed him out and made him sleep on the couch so he wouldn't get the flu himself.

He smiled at the memory as he picked up Seraphina and sat her on his lap. "Mommy got sick and she didn't want me sick."

"Oh, that makes sense." Seraphina said calmly, her five-year-old mind accepting the infomation.

Charlie smiled and kissed her head, saying "I'm going to check up on Mommy real quick. You stay here, okay?"

"Okay, Daddy." Seraphina said as she laid back down on the couch, wrapping herself in the blanket her father used last night.

Charlie smiled at her as he ran his finegrs through his shorter, but windblown bronze hair and walked up the stairs of his three-story home. His bedroom was the first door on the right, but he didn't have to be at the door to hear the rapid sneezing and harsh coughs coming from the bedroom he shared with his wife.

He began to worry as he opened the door to find his wife coughing over a trash bin and throwing another paper tissue in it. He looked up, with her watery eyes and red nose, as she said in a hoarse voice "Hey, babe."

"Morning, Emmy." The nickname Charlie had given her so long ago still chilled her spine. She smiled at him as he walked into the bedroom and turned on the lights, causing her to cover her eyes from the brightness.

"Ugh, why does everything have to be so bright?" Emerson complained as she threw the covers on her head, exposing her feet before curling them inside the covers and making herself in a little ball. "Why can't it be dark for a few more hours..?"

"Well, last time I checked it was 4:00 in the morning." Charlie teased her as he wlaked to the bed and sat down on the edge. He took off the covers and saw Emerson glaring at him for getting her out of her makeshift cave. But he smiled at her and said, "Are you feeling any better?"

That comment made her smile, knowing that he was just checking up on her. But she shook her head though and Charlie frowned at the response. He pressed her wirst to his forehead then to her forehead, trying to see if she had cooled down since having a temparture of 108 last night before sending Charlie to the living room.

"How is it?" Emerson asked before she blew her nose.

"Not good. You're still pretty warm and you sound awful, no offence." Charlie said unhappily, disappointed by the sudden but temporary illness that has forced his wife to be stuck in bed on the one of the best days of the year.

Emerson groaned and flopped back down on her pillow, murmuring "The last year to celebrated with Seraphina before she goes to school. This sucks..." Charlie nodded his head as he knew of what she was talking about. Every year, since their daughter was born, they had gotten up early and let Seraphina rip open her gifts before Charlie or Emerson cooked Christmas breakfast. Afterwards, only Emerson survived the morning as Charlie and Seraphina almost always fall asleep on the couch and are woke up on Emerson for lunch.

But it is how they spent Christmas and it was sad that they couldn't do it this year.

Charlie smiled sadly at her as he placed the covers back over her upper body, turned off the light, and got up to leave the room. But as he opened the door, he was startled by a small girl standing right in front of him as she was listening to the conversation that happened inside the room.

The bronze-haired man looked at his daughter for a moment before scooping her up and walking downstairs, but the young child kept her eyes on the door to the master bedroom the whole time as Charlie sat her down back on the couch sat next to her. She even crawled over her father's lapso she would be leaning over the arm of the couch, watching the bedroom door like something was about to happen.

Charlie smiled a little as he asked, "Seraphina, what are you doing?"

"Thinking, Daddy." The young girl answered as her emerlad eyes never left the door.

Her father chuckled silently as he thought about how much she reminded him of Emerson. _"It has been 13 years... That is longer than most mortal couples survive."_ Charlie thought to himself as he remembered how he got here.

After the show, him and Emerson decided to "take a break" for two reasons: The first reason being that they lived too far away from each other to actually having face-to-face dates and the second reason because Charlie's aunt had gotten married to her boyfriend of the time and he decided that the son of Hades needed to go to a military school for a year, which was in Los Angeles and would have no contact to the outside world basically.

But both him and Emerson were mature about and promise to call each other at least once a week, which would have to be Saturday since that was the only day Charlie could talk to anyone. Surprisingly, they were able to find time to call each other during that one Saturday and talk about their week, acting more like friends than a couple. After he got out of military school and got back to a normal public school, he was able to call his girlfriend of the time more often, which made them both happy.

When college came around, Charlie already had best-selling book that his aunt gave to a friend who worked in the book business, without his premission. But he still went to college in New York and got a degree in both Business and Creative Writing, while Emerson went to a college in England and got a degree in Photography. She also had a job already being one of the top photographers in a small company. Due to them having more time and money, they visted each other as much as they could.

A few years later, at the tender age of 21 according to his aunt, Charlie and Emerson got married. Charlie began known for his horror-mystery books and some horror shows that he ended up writing or dirtecting. Emerson got hired at a very huge business that sent photographers across the world sometimes and paid well no matter how big or small the job was.

Then, only two years later after they got married, the well-off couple had a baby girl named Seraphina Marie. Her middle name from her deceased grandmother and her first name came from Emerson winning a bet with Charlie to see if it was a boy or girl. Seraphina was one of those rare babies that never cried or fuss a lot, always smiling or giggling or looking at something with interest.

Last year was when they introduced a new member to the Davis family: Leonardo William Davis. But surprisingly, neither of his parents chose the first name as Charlie's aunt begged him to name the baby after his maternal grandfather, whose name was also Leonardo. The middle came from Emerson being slightly obsessed over the royal marriage and wanted to name her son after Prince William.

The bronze-haired man smiled at these memories before he was tapped on the shouldr by his daughter. Charlie looked to see Seraphina having a happy smile on her face and a sparkle in her eyes. "I know how Mommy can spend Christmas with us and still be in bed!"

**~0~**

Two hours passed since Emerson woke up hacking and Charlie came to check up on her. It was sweet of her husband to make sure she wasn't dead yet, but she was so worried that he would get sick then neither of them could enjoy the daughter's last Christmas home all-year before she went to school and had to wait until Christmas Break to enjoy this special holiday.

She laid in bed until six o'clock, where the sun rose and brought light into the bedroom. Usually, she would be happy to see the sun and would make her husband, who was not an early bird in the least bit, get up.

But today, she knew how Charlie felt when she woke him up an she just wanted the sun to go away. She threw the covers over her head and groaned, trying to block out the sunny morning that she usually enjoys so much. She felt so tire from being up all night, hacking and sneezing from the cold she was sure that Charlie's half-sister somehow gave to her.

Her eyelids began to feel heavy as she yawned and got comfy in the bed. She felt sleep overcame her, finally feeling the warmth of the covers bringing her closer to sleep. She was surprised she didn't hack a lung our or sneeze her head off before she fell asleep, but she didn't care because she was finally going to get some sleep after being up for three hours straight.

Too bad that didn't happen.

As soon as her eyelids shut, the bedroom door swung open as a young girl jumped on the ebd and said, "Merry Christmas, Momma!" Emerson threw the covers off of her as she saw Seraphina smiling happily at her, then wrapping her skinny arms around her mother's neck. She planted a kiss on Emerson's cheek as a second figure crawled on the bed.

Emerson looked to see a 16-month-old baby boy looking at her with shining grey eyes. Like his father, Leo had windblown bronze hair and pale skin. He wore a light blue onesie and held a stuffed bat, something his sister picked out because she knew of their parental grandfather, Hades. Of course, Charlie tried to talk his daughter out of buying the stuffed toy because he at least wanted her to get a stuffed toy of Hades' _scared_ animal.

"Aw, who is a cutie?" Emerson said as she picked up Leo. The toddler giggled and hugged his mother, smiling like the cute child he was.

Emerson looked to see her husband smiling at the doorway, with a sack of presents in his hands. She was confused as Seraphina jumped down from the bed and tugged on her father's plaid sleeping pants.

Charlie smiled as he walked up to the bed and opened the sack, with many presents coming out of it. Emerson was shock as Leo clapped his hands happily and said, "Pwesents...! Momma, pwesents!" Emerson smiled at him and hugged her toddler, watching his eyes lit up as the colorful boxes stopped coming out from the sack.

The daughter of Eos looked at her husband as Seraphina smiled at her mother and said, "Daddy and I came up with this idea where we bring your presents to you so you don't have to get out of bed. Then, we will go downstairs and open our presents while you go back to sleep. After that, Daddy is going to cook us breakfast and then we are all going to go back to bed."

Emerson blinked a few times before coughing a little, but smiled at her family. Seraphina grabbed the first gift she saw before she began pulling Leo from their mother's lap, causing the toddler to wail in annoyance and sadness.

"Seraphina Marie Davis! You do not grab your brother like that." Charlie said in a stern tone. The five-year-old let go of her brother, slightly in fear of her father's tone because she knows he would punish her.

Leo crawled to his mother's side and played the the hem of her pants, being easily entertained by the farbic. Charlie smiled and sat next to his wife, watching their daugter grab random gifts and place them into Emerson's lap as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and leaned his head against her head.

The sick woman, despite feeling weak at the moment, smiled as her children interact with each other. She smiled at her husband as she thought how blissfully happy she was, which was a pretty great gift in itself.


	3. Hunting for Dinner

**Black Kitten Chara: I'm so sorry for the delay! My Internet has been down and I had no way to upload chapters! But since my Internet been down, I got to write four chapters for y'all. Please don't hate me and please review! T^T**

**By the way, I do not like eating deer but deer jerky in a famous thing down here in the South and pretty darn good. But anything else deer-wise, nope.**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Total Drama or any of these characters!**

* * *

It was the perfect time to go hunting in the early summer evening. There was not a cloud in the sky and the early stars shone dimly against the pink sky that faded into purple. The crescent moon, which came out early again the purple part of the sky, glowed brightly despite it looking and feeling so far away. The wind blew gently in the thick, lush green forest and the only sounds were crickets cripping happily.

Three figures stood hidden with the forest, watching animals like squrriels and bunnies past them. But they were waiting for one of the grand prize animals; a heathly stag or a stocky bear, both beautiful to the eyes of three figures. But these animals were only beautiful because the trhee figures knew that these animals were meaty, juicy, and fresh for hunting.

After what felt like thirty minutes, a rustling in the bushes came from the other side of the forest. The three figures stiffen as a beautiful, bash-coated stag stepped into the clearing. The horns of this animal was beautiful, hard and pure white, ready to be torn off the stag to be placed over the fireplace. The stag was muscular and strong-looking, showing off its muscles as it praced over to the small stream near the three figures.

Then, in a split second, a blast of arrows came from behind the trees as they stabbed the stag. It cried as it fell to the ground in pain, arrows stabbing its legs where it can't move. It wailed as arrows shot at its eye, neck, head, and heart as it finally gave in and let the crimson liquid from its body spill out as it slowly died.

"Daddy! Daddy! We got one!" Two children of seven years of age, obivously twins, said as they raced out of the forest. They stared at the stag in awe as they took an arrow from their quivers and poked at the dead animal.

The boy had shaggy, spiky black hair that went to his earlobes with amber eyes and pale skin, while the girl had long light brown hair that currently had pink streaks throughout it with light blue eyes and slightly tan skin. Both kids, despite being seven years old, were built like athletes and had some scars on their arms and legs. The boy wore a silver t-shirt with blue jeans and black hunting boots, with a watch and a necklace that had a moon on it. The girl wore a neon purple shirt with spaghetti straps, jeans shorts, white and blue sneakers, sun stud earrings, and a pair of pink Disney Princesses sunglasses.

"Ha, looks like we did kiddos. Now, let Daddy clean this beast up so we can take it to Mommy for her to cook." Vulcan Arrowthrone said to his twin children. His hair was no longer in dreadlocks, but he still wore his silver hunting clothes for when he came out for some food.

"Can we help, Daddy?" Halycon, the boy, asked.

"Yeah! We wanna help!" Phoebe, the girl, asked.

Vulcan laughed as he kneel down to the dead stag. Being a professional hunter, he was very skilled at cleaning the dead animals he hunted for farms and people for a high price. He took off his backpack and began wiping the blood off, cleaning quickly it so no germs would get into the animals. He took each bloody arrow out and placed them back into his quiver, which was much bigger than his daughter's pink quiver or his son's black with flames quiver.

After only four minutes, Vulcan had quickly cleaned up the dead animal as he tied up its legs toegther. He pulled a stray piece of rope into his hands as he began pulling the dead deer across the ground.

"Daddy, don't you have to clean it up again?" Phoebe asked innocently.

"Yes, but I cleaned it up enough where I will only have to wipe off the dirt." Vulcan said as him and his kids left the forest, into the backyard of a small brick home on the side of a single road with a few other houses around it.

Vulcan opened the backdoor and walked straight into the kitchen. The smell of carrots, mashed potatoes, spiced chicken in brooth, and BBQ beans filled with home as Phoebe and Halycon ran in with excitement. Vulcan smiled as he kneel down and took out his kit again, cleaning up the stag once more before entering the house. He sat it on the table, where a huge cloth laid for this very reason.

"Bria! We're back!" Vulcan yelled throughout the small home.

A tall, tan woman with slender, statuesque figure that had broad shoulders and a narrow waist came from around the corner of the living room. Her long, light brown hair was piled into tight curls on her head and her twinkling amber eyes smiled at her husband as she ran up to hug him. She wore a white button-up shirt with the sleeves rolled above her elbows and her breasts showing slightly, a black leather sleeveless vest over the button-down, a black pair of leather short-shorts, black kitten heels, a black scarf with white polka dots around her neck, and many silver bracelets on both wrists.

She hugged her husband's waist as "Hey there. How was your day?"

"Pretty good. Some rich families got me to hunt for them and got an easy $200 bucks today. Then I took the kids out to get supper." Vulcan patted the dead stag on the table as Bria's eyes lit up.

"Wow! I can make some steak and jerky out of this beast!" Bria called out as she picked up one the stag's legs.

Vulcan laughed as he remembered how his little Bria once went from hating the sight of a dead animal to helping him skin the animals he brought home. After the show, it was hard for them to be together because of their godly parents being siblings, but they made it work somehow by somehow getting both Apollo's and Artemis' blessing.

When they got engaged, Bria moved into the little apartment Vulcan bought for himself after high school in a small town known as Forks, Washington. She started to take acting lessons and being a stunt double for movies, making some money for them on her part but it did take her away from home sometimes. Vulcan was already working as a professional hunter, killing animals that farms and rich families paid him well for, roughly $500 a week.

Then, shortly after they got married, Bria found out she was pregnant. The bigger news came when they found out they were having twins. Soon, Halycon and Phoebe came into their lives and Vulcan swears up and down that they got their hyperness from his wife. Sometimes, one of them got to go with Bria on one of her movies while Vulcan took the other on a hunting trip.

Bria looked at the stag with happiness as she took one of her knives from the kitchen and pressed it to the stag's neck. "Okay, this is where it gets messy. Who wants to help me?"

"Me! Me! Me!" Phoebe and Halycon yelled at the same time as they ran to the table. Vulcan smiled as he went over to the table as well, being there just to witness his wife cut up a stag which he found amazingly hot.

Bria placed the knife at the stag's throat, burying it into the fur and skin as she began pushing it across the stag's flesh. Soon, a strip of flesh was coming off as the family stared in awe and completely unfazed. The daughter of Apollo kept pushing the knife further into the stag as more flesh peeled off and blood began pouring off the stag's exposed muscles, causing Vulcan to get a medicine to stop the blood vessels cold.

Bria kept going until one side of the stag was completely exposed and showing its bloody muscules to the world. Vulcan use the medicine, which was a rub-on cream that wasn't lethal to humans, to stop the vessels completely as Bria flipped over the animal to get the over side.

"Mommy! Can I skin the stag?" Halycon begged.

"I wanna do it!" Phoebe cut in.

"But I asked first!" Halycon snapped at his sister.

Vulcan got between his children and said in a stern tone, "Now, kids, no arguing over who gets to skin the stag. You will both get a turn then Mommy will finish it. Understand?"

"Okay, Daddy!" The twins said at once with happiness.

Bria smiled as she handed Halycon the knife first, keeping her hand on top of his little one as she helped him cut into the stag's flesh. She kept her hand on his as he began skinning the animal, making sure he didn't cut himself. But finally, she let go of his hand and he began skinning the stag with easy.

After skinning a fes trips of flesh off, Halycon handed the knife back to Bria as she began placing her hand over Phoebe's excited little hand as the seven-year-old grabbed with knife in joy. She quickly placed it on the stag before her mother could react, already cutting into the skin as she skinned at a fast pace.

But she ended but going to fast that she caused herself to cut her other hand, which she didn't move away from the path of the knife.

"Ow! Ow! Ow!" Phoebe cried as she grabbed her bleeding hand, stopping the fast rush of crimson liquid from escaping. Bria held her daughter's hands as she took her child over to the kitchen sink and began washing the wound out.

"Vulcan, can you please finish up?" Bria asked sweetly.

"Sure, dear. Halycon, help Mommy clean Phoebe's wound." Vulcan told his son as he grabbed the knife and began to finish off skinning the stag.

"Okay, Daddy!" Halycon said as he ran over to see his sister's bleeding hand.

Vulcan started to skin the last few strips of the stag's flesh as he pressed the the medicine to make the vessels dry up. The cream, which Vulcan made out of boredom one day, wasn't lethal to humans or demigods but it had to dry for at least ten minutes before it could be concluded as completely safe and edible.

Vulcan looked over to the kitchen to see Phoebe getting her hand wrapped up. Halycon stared at the bloody sink in awe, qhich woried Vulcan slightly. He moved into the kitchen as Bria placed the last layer of white cloth around her daughter's hand.

"There we go. All fixed up and better, sweetheart." Bria said as she smiled at her daughter. "How about you and Halycon go play in your rooms? Daddy and I are going to cook supper real quick and it will be done before bath time."

Phoebe nodded her head as Vulcan wiped some tears off her face. She jumped off the counter as she held out her good hand, letting Halycon grab it before they ran up the stairs to their shared bedroom. Bria and Vulcan laughed as they began fixing up the rest of their supper while the medicine dried up on the stag.

Vulcan began working on the carrots as he said, "So, how was your day?"

"Ugh, so tiring. The director of the film made me do like the same stunt five times over because they wanted to see which angle the scene would look best from. I literally hurt my neck because I was being pulled backwards into this hard-as-rocks mattress and went through a breakable wall into a pile of dust." Bria explained as she rubbed the back of her neck.

"You want me to rub it?" Vulcan playfully asked, though he was being serious.

"Please, but after we cook supper. What are we going to do with the stag?" Bria jerked her head to the dead animal as she continued with the chicken they were eating for that night.

"Well, after the kids go to sleep, we will cut it up and place it in my special sauce. Then it stays in the fridge until tomorrow night, where we will cook and it will be tender as it can be." Vulcan explained as he began putting the chopped-up carrots in the veggie soup next to him.

"No, I meant where are we going to put it." Bria asked with a smirk.

Vulcan stared at her in shock as he cracked a smile, "We can always in the living room for tonight. I can put a sheet over it so it doesn't stink."

Bria rolled her eyes as she watched her husband go over to the dining table and placed a sheet over the dead animal. She shook her head playfully as she took out the chicken from the brooth and placed one more layer of season salt over it. Then she checked on the beans and saw that they were done, shutting off the heat as she contineud to work on the mashed potatoes.

Then Vulcan returned to the kitchen as two pairs of footsteps came running down the stairs, with screams of joy being heard. The young couple smiled as Halycon and Phoebe played with the toy bow and arrows, hiding behind the couches and chairs to dodge each other's attack on the other.

Vulcan kept an eye on his rowdy kids as he saw that the soup was finished, so he cut off the heat as Bria was finish with the potatoes and added butter, mixing it in with the scrath. Then she poured the mashed potatoes out into a bowl, pour the beans in a second bowl, and Vulcan placed the soup in a third bowl while Bria placed the chicken a huge dining plate. They then carried everything to the living room with care.

"Kids, put up your toys and sit down. We're eating in the living room tonight." Bria said as she placed the food on the coffee table.

"Fine." The twins huffed as they put away their toys anyway and sat down on the single love couch.

Bria and Vulcan laughed as they then grabbed plates, forks, knives, and soups from the kitchen and brought it back to the living room. They sat down as the family began picking out what they want and began eating, talking about their day as the twins tried to talk a little over each other, which caused their parents to silence them and let each other talk one at a time.

But it was an ordinary night for them when it came to getting supper ready.


	4. An Exciting Saturday Afternoon

On most Saturday afternoons, the park in Summit, New Jersey was usually either crowded with over-excited and rowdy children with their exhausted parents or it held important parties that for big businesses or small companies to either celebrate or make new deals. But today, on this particalur rainy and gloomy afternoon, the only signs of life at the park where the birds nestled away in the trees and insects buried deep within the ground.

So, while the rain flushed out any enjoyment the park could offer, a couple with their three-year-old daughter sat cozy in a small cafe across from the play area.

"Mommy, I think that little boy is looking at me again." Three-year-old Delilah Winters complained to her mother, Dana.

"And who is this again?" Dana asked as she took a sip of her hot chocolate. Her neatly brushed, light brown hair was pulled into a simple ponytail as her green-yellow eyes scanned the cafe for the boy Delilah was talking about for the past ten minutes.

"THAT ONE!" Delilah basically yelled, pointing her finger to a small blonde boy across the cafe. Everyone looked at the family as Dana pulled her daughter's arm down and gave a nervously laugh, having a hand over Delilah's mouth as her father looked at the young girl with stern eyes.

The little girl gulped as Danny tapped a finger on his chin and gave his daughter stern eyes. Delilah stuck down into her seat as the son of Aphrodite sighed in frustration.

"Delilah, you know not to scream in public places." Danny said as he kept his cool, his brown-hazel-green eyes filled with a calmness that settled his daughter's nerves only by a little bit.

"I'm sorry, Daddy. But that little boy is annoying me." Delilah quickly said under her breath, geninuely sorry for what she did. She curled her little fists up to her face as her big and innocent eyes were filled with regret and a fear that she was going to get in huge trouble when they got home.

Danny looked at his wife, who grabbed his hand and held it, causing him to smile a little as he reached across the table and picked up his daughter's head. The little girl was almos in tears, but Danny leaned in to kiss her forehead as he said, "We will let it slide since this is your first time doing it, but next time you will be in huge trouble, young lady."

"Really?" Delilah asked with huge shocked eyes.

Danny laughed as he kissed her forehead again, returning to his seat as he was amazed by how something as simple as letting her screaming slide can make her so happy again. The three-year-old smiled as she grabbed her crayons again and began coloring in the princess book she had brought to entertain herself.

Dana smiled as she leaned in and whispered to her husband, "You have to admit, we can't blame the boy for staring at that little face." Danny was slightly confused by this statement until he looked back at his daughter and realized what his wife meant.

Delilah had neatly brushed, thick dark brown hair with beautiful brown eyes that had green, hazel, and silver mixed into them. She had fair skin with rosy cheeks, with her petite little figure resembling her mother's own body, but she had gained a cute little scar on her lip from where she tried to eat a stapler at the age of six months old. She wore a light yellow, long-sleeved sweater with a white short-sleeved shirt under it with a faded denim skirt and cute little brown cowboy boots. She wore a Yin-Yang hairclip to push back her bangs, a cross necklace, and a blue rubber watch that had Cinderella on the watch face.

Danny leaned back in as he said, "Yeah. I guess we did good, mostly because my mom is Aphrodite and everything." For that comment, Dana pinched his arm until he was stomping his foot on the gorund to singal he was giving up.

Dana laughed as the family continued to enjoy their time in the cafe, sipping on the hot chocolate and eating the cookies they had ordered only a few minutes ago. Delilah was still coloring when the front door opened and Danny's face went completely white, with Dana's face turning into a look of complete anger towards the new person in the cafe.

It was a tall, dark-skinned woman with obviously dyed purple hair and dark brown eyes. She wore a pure white trench coat over a bright purple sweater, wearing a pair of lime green jeans and a pair of hot pink sneakers. Her dyed hair was braided behind her back, ending near her thighs as she gave an over-excited smile towards the family, or more so at Danny. She leaned towrad sthe table, towering over Delilah as the girl crouched down in fear.

She tall woman jumped up and down as she screamed, "Oh my gosh! Danny, it has been forever since we last saw each other!" Then her eyes scanned across the table to find Dana glaring at the girl. She huffed, placing her hands on her hips as she said "Who is this? She is ruining our conversation."

Danny rubbed the bridge of his nose as he gestured to Dana, saying in a stern tone "Sierra, this is my _wife_ Dana. And that child you are currently crushing is _our daughter_ Delilah."

Those words hit Sierra like a wrecking ball as she whimpered in a soft tone, "Wife... Daughter?"

"Yes. You see-"

"NO! NO, NO, NO, NO! HOW CAN YOU HAVE SEX WITH THIS TRASHY SLUT AND NOT WITH ME, THE ONE GIRL WHO HAS BEEN THERE FOR YOU? HOW CAN YOU JUST ABANDON A FUTURE WE COULD HAD HAVE TOGETHER JUST BECAUSE YOU GOT THIS WHORE PREGNANT FROM ONE NIGHT AND DECIDED TO STAY WITH HER?!" Sierra screamed thoughout the cafe, gaining attention from everyone inside the establishment.

And that was the final straw for the daughter of Harmonia, who was just called a slut and whore by this pyscho. Dana stood up, fire filling her usually happy eyes as she gritted her teeth like an wild animal at the tall woman. She grabbed Sierra by the arm as she pulled her down to face level, animalistic noises filling her throat.

Then she spoke such simple words that still cut through Sierra like a knife: "You never, ever cal me trash or a slur or a whore in front of my child. You never had a chance with Danny because all you did was force yourself into this perfect idea for your future, just becasue he was nice to you and you had no one. I fell in love with Danny too and he fell for me, harder than he would have for you. The love we have is greater than something you imagined for you and him, and even though he has been with other girls before, he never wants to hurt or leave me because you said so. Now, get out of here and never come near us again."

Dana let go of Sierra's arm as tears streamed down the purple-haired woman's face. She wiped the tears away as she ran out of the cafe in a dramatic manner, sobbing something about a lost love.

As the daughter of Harmonia sat down calmly, the cafe brusted into a roar of clapping and cheers towards the usually cheery woman. She smiled in a cocky manner, happy that she told off someone that Danny had told her multiple times was a completely pyscho and would probably hurt her. But it seems like Dana was the one who established her domanince in Danny's life and caused the tall woman to be scared of _her._

Danny stare at shock as his wife, smiling as he said "You're amazing."

"I know. Why do you think you married me?" Dana answered back as she twirled a piece of loose hair between her delicate fingers.

Danny laughed as he began remembering why he chose Dana out of all the girls he met on the show, the innocent and OCD girl who had no idea about sex or love or even a simple kiss because mostly her brother shielded her from that and because she didn't really care to be with someone when first coming on the show.

But something about her attracted him that no other girl did. Maybe because she was just an innocent virgin, or maybe because she had just such a postivie personality. But what caught his attention the most, after Dana was kicked off, is that she didn't see him as a son of Aphrodite that just liked women; she saw him was a romantic boy who was just narrowing down the playing field.

After the show, like most of the couples on it, they lived too far away from each other that it was hard to just pop it for a visit. So, since they weren't offically dating yet and consider each other very close friends, they decided to stay in contact with each other while having the chance to see other people. But for that whole time, while finishing up high school and getting ready for college, Danny did not see another girl because he knew he loved Dana.

But Dana was seeing another boy, which Dany told him it was fine since they weren't dating. It was only when she called him saying her boyfriend wanted to have sex with her is when he bought a ticket to Salem, Oregon and found her in her boyfriend's car, in front of a hotel where her boyfriend wanted to have sex. She didn't want to get out because she was still thinking, but Danny told her that he was treat her like a princess if she just reconsider this choice.

Dana made up her mind right then and dumped her boyfriend, going with Danny to the University of Dallas where he studied to be a veterinarian and she studied Business and Marketing. But only after two years, Dana's cleaning business got huge in Texas but she finished off her degree as she went from cleaning houses herself to hiring people to do that while she checked them like a teacher would. Danny got a well-paying job as a veterinarian for a small yet successful business.

Even though they waited until they got married the following year they graduated, Dana got pregnant right away and eight months later, they had little Delilah even though she premature. But she survived the hospital stay and ws welcomed home, where she gew up to be like her innocent mother with slight OCD tendancies while being empathetic, intelligent, and sensitive like her father.

But Danny's train of thought was interrupted when Delilah asked, "Daddy, what is sex?"

Right away, Dana covered her mouth and giggled a little as Danny's face turned red. Delilah had a look of innocent on her face, showing how serious she was about her question. Danny rubbed the back of his head and gave a nervous laugh, much like how his wife did when she was trying to get Delilah to be quiet.

"Well, sweetheart, you are too young to know that." Danny simply said.

"But I wanna know!" Delilah whined a little, dying to know what this mysterious subject was about.

Danny tugged the collar of his black sweater as he said, "Well, it is something you do when you are married to someone you love very much and want to be with. I may the mistake of not doing that, but I want you to wait until you are married to do that like your mommy did. Um... sometimes when you do this activity, someone like you is made."

"That's it?" Delilah asked as she raised her eyebrows.

"Yes."

"That is a dumb thing! Why do people do that? That's silly." Delilah said as she turned her nose up, bored by the subject of sex now and finding it stupid.

Danny and Dana laughed, seeing how stubborn their daughter was. Danny made a mental note that if that little boy that kept staring at Delilah wanted to have sex with her, then Danny was going to buy a huge gun and threaten the boy that he will shoot his head off if he tried to force Delilah into anything. Of course, that is only if his wife would let him buy one and actually let him keep it until that time comes.


	5. Runs in the Family

Jeremy Fischer couldn't believe it; his forgetful, awkward, impulsive, and unorganized troublemaker of a son who lived for chaos was just across the table from him now after tens years. But he couldn't say those things about Ben now because, as he saw when his son walked through the door only minutes ago, none of that was true anymore and Jeremy regretted ever thinking that way.

The old Ben who have forgotten to come while this changed Ben came right on time to see his father and step-mother. The old Ben was implusive and unorganized, while this changed Ben was careful with what he said and did as well as being organized to what he had to do that day. While the old Ben was a troublemaker that everyone thought who never live up to anything, this changed Ben was a wonderful father and husband who had an amazing job. But the one thing that didn't change was the awkward way Ben sat and rubbed his neck, not knowing what to say to his father.

After what felt like hours, Jeremy finally cleared his throat and said "So, it has been a long time, hasn't it?"

"Almost ten years next month." Ben quickly said back, wanting this visit to end.

The two went back into uncomfortable silence as cute yells of children were heard from outside of the kitchen. Both men looked to see Andrea, Ben's step-mother, playing with a seven-year-old boy and a two-year-old girl. And sitting next to Andrea as they talked sparsely was Nakayla, the love of Ben's life.

Jeremy saw the love filling his son's face when his eyes laid on the daughter of Zeus, her curly hair straighten for today and her eletric blue eyes shining with joy as their children played a game of tag throughout the yard. His heart broke when he realized that was the same look he gave _both_ Eris and Harmonia when he realized they carried his children, but he never gave that look to Andrea himself.

"You really love, don't you?" Jeremy asked in a sad tone.

Ben gave his wayward look to his dad, his mouth in a straight line as he said, "Yes, I do. She is the type of girl that only comes once in a lifetime for someone like me. You think I am just going to let her slip pass my fingers like you did with Mom? Yeah, like I would have let that happen. She is the only person in this world who gets me, unlike you and Andrea, and I love her because she is beautiful, inside and out."

That shut Jeremy up as a set of footsteps came running up to the screen door and a small fist knocked on it three times.

Both men looked down to see the two-year-old girl, who had messy and long light brown hair with electric blue eyes, staring at them through the screen door. She wore only hot pink tutu with high-top bright blue Converse, black-and-green striped socks, and a long-sleeved multicolored pokla dots white shirt.

Ben smiled as he opened the screen door and picked up his daughter while saying, "What is Vivienne?"

"I want popsicle!" Vivienne said right away in her cute toddler voice, eyeing the fridge like she was about to raid it for herself.

Ben laughed as he gave a look to his father, which the man nodded as he watched his son and his granddaughter go to the freezer and get out the box of popsicles Jeremy had bought only yesterday. Vivienne attacked the box as she grabbed the first grape popsicle she saw and jumped down from her father's arms, running back outside with joy.

Ben sat back down as he watched Vivienne sat herself on the old swingset her father and Dana used to play on. Jeremy saw his granddaughter trying to kick grass in front of her as she sucked on the grape-flavored treat.

"She is beautiful, Ben." Mr. Fischer said in a low voice.

His son shot him a look as he said, "Yeah, she is just like me in being a rowdy little kid. But she is too sweet and cute to be considr the devil you considered me to be."

Jeremy felt the ice in his son's words as he gulped, trying to reach for Ben's hand across the table. His sad grey eyes looked at the ground as he spoke in a low tone, "Benjamin, I am so sorry for what happened. But you must understand that at the time-"

"No, Dad. I do give a flying fuck why you treated me like you did for the past thirty years and I honestly don't want to know. You saw me as a monster and so did Andrea, only because of you finally understood who my mom really was and Andrea hated the fact I destoryed her life basically when I was born. Just because I grew up different from what you viewed as a perfect son, then I was a monster to you and you tried to do everything to get me to leave. I only had Dana and she had me because she didn't want your love." Ben said in the calmest yet coldest tone he could manage.

Tears now flowed down Jeremy's face as Ben pulled away for the final time, knowing his father's tears were ones to lure him back into the trap he created thrity years ago. The son of Eris stood up and opened the screen door, grabbing attentiong from everyone in the backyard.

"Nakayla, we kind of need to leave now." Ben told his wife, and not flat-out saying what just happened.

The daughter of Zeus' eyes widen as she got up and patted her yellow sundress to get the wrinkles out. She beckoned to her kids to come along, which they did with some reluctance as they did not want to leave the huge backyard filled with trees or the larger-than-life playground just yet.

But they followed their parents anyways as they went through the kitchen and the living room, exiting through the front door to the silver Ford Fusion waiting in the driveway. Ben gave one last look to his father as he shut the door, leaving the man he once considered a father alone in the kitchen as Jeremy Fischer is now the man Benjamin Fischer hates.

**~0~**

Later that night, Nakayla sat in her daughter's room as she closed the story book she just read to Vivienne. The little girl was now curled up in a ball, holding her stuffed cat as she snored loudly like her father does. Nakayla smiled as she pulled the covers over her daughter and kissed her good-night on the head, leaving the room quietly as she turned on the nightlight before closing the door softly.

Then she walked downstairs to find her seven-year-old son, Kadian, watching TV alone in the living room. His curly dark brown hair was a mess, and he still wore his blue polo shirt and bash khaki shorts from earlier today. Like his father, he had silver eyes with green and yellow flecks, and freckles on on his nose and upper cheeks.

Nakayla smirked as she walked behind the couch and stanched the remote from her son, causing the boy to look up at her with annoyed eyes. "Mom! I was watching the MMA fight!"

"And it is pass your time to watch TV. Now, go take a bath and I will come help you with your homework afterwards. I can record this if you are so excited to see it and you can watch it after school." Nakayla said as she brushed some wild hair, which Kadian must have laid on, behind her son's ear.

"Okay, Mom!" Kadian said as he jumped off the couch and walked upstairs. Nakayla shook her head as she saw how easy it was to please her son, who had just started 1st grade and only had math homework to deal with.

She strenched her arms as she turned off the TV and walked back upstairs, passing her bedroom she shared with Ben to see that the light was on. Curious, she slipped in as the bath water started as saw her husband working at his computer with his reading glasses on, proving that he was reading or doing something important.

So, Nakayla sat on the bed as she grabbed a random book and kept an eye on her husband, waiting for him to be done as she looked around the room to keep herself bust as well, seeing the random articles of clothes thrown on the floor.

As she waited, her eyes landed on an old picture of her, Ben, and Kadian when he was only two years old. It was one where he was learning how to ride a bike with training wheels, with Nakayla's worried face in the background and Ben pushing their son to keep pedaling faster. The picture was taken by Emerson, who was visiting with Charlie when they were heading to their final vacation together before Seraphina was born.

At this point, Nakayla's mind started wandering to everything that got them to having that picture and what happened today was no exception.

When the show was over, Nakayla was despressed that she couldn't see Ben anymore. But when arriving home, her drunk mother almost beat her to death for falling in love, leaving home without permission, and not even winning the show. But her mother fell asleep and Nakayla waited a few days for her bruises to heal, before packing her bags in secret and purchasing a ticket to Oregon.

After a long trip, Nakayla was at Ben's door and he opened it to find her. She explained everything while in tears, so he comfort her as he conviced his father and step-mother to let her stay for a while. After only a week or so, Jeremy Fischer bought Nakayla an apartment and enrolled her in Ben's school as long as she kept a job to pay rent.

Which Nakayla did as she passed with honors and got to go to the same college as Ben, who moved in with her since his parents were not too happy with him for pulling a prank on one of his old high school teachers, chewing him out about how he will never measure to anything.

But after only two years, Ben's parents were trying to run his name through the mud by filing a report he tried to sexual harrass his step-mom and stole money from his dad's account. But they had no real facts about these so-called cases and the judge dropped it, which pissed Ben off enough to cause him and Nakayla to move to Texas where they finished college. That was the reason they went to Jeremy Fishcer's house so he could mend bonds with his son.

When they finished college, Ben became a graphic designer and started up his own small business that was very successful right from the start. Which was good because unlike Charlie, whose aunt went against his wishes and gave one of his books to a publisher, Nakayka had some trouble getting her series publish for a good year. But, before their big news came, Nakayla got her first book published and it became a best-seller quickly in the young adult fantasy-romance genre.

Then, they got the news that they were going to be parents. Kadian was born when his parents were twenty-three and he was shown to be like Nakayla when it came to a good-hearted, smart leader. And within five years, Vivienne was born and she was the female version of her father's mischevious ways.

"Nakayla?" She was snapped out of her daydream as she looked up to see Ben looking at her.

"Oh, sorry. I saw the light on and was wondering why, but then I saw you worked and decided to let you finish." Nakayla said quickly, dropping the random book.

"Good. You were reading a baby book and I was worried you were having another kid." Ben joked as Nakayla started to turn red in the face. He laughed as he came over and sat on the bed with his wife as she stuffed the book into a drawer.

Ben wrapped an arm around her waist, bringing her closer and placing her in his lap. She smiled as she wrapped her arms over his neck, pulling his head foward as their lips barely touching when they closed their eyes. They were only inches from each other as-

"VIVIENNE, GO AWAY!" Kadian yelled.

"NO! YOU TOOK MR. KITTY AWAY!" Vivienne yelled back.

"BECAUSE YOU WERE SLEEPING WITH MY BACKPACK IN YOUR ROOM!" Kadian snapped back.

Ben and Nakayla sighed as they saw Vivienne run into the bedroom with tears streaming down her eyes. Kadian came behind with her stuffed cat, dropping it as his sister grabbed it before it hit the ground and running back into her bedroom. Kadian just looked at his parents as he walked into his bedroom, not wanting to know what was going on between them.

Ben rubbed the bridge of his nose before bursting out into laughter, looking at his wife as he asked "Why do our kids fight act that way?"

Nakayla smirked at him before kissing his cheek and said, "It runs in the family, I guess."


	6. Intruder

November was a beautiful season for those who live in the South; crisp autumn leaves in shades of orange, yellow, red, and brown decorated the forests and grounds in a manner that caused anyone's inner child to come out for a short time. The air was light and crisp like the leaves, letting it suitable to play outside. The sun shined without the intense heat and the smell of everything from pumpkins to cinnamon-scented candles filled every home you go into. Being it was after Thanksgiving, most of the homes had taken down their decorations for that holiday and has begun decorating for Christmas.

But when the sun went down, an ominous aura came over the small town of Burnsville. It wasn't an aura that everyone feared, but it was smart not to go outside after dark unless you were in your own backyard. The feeling that the nighttime had during autumn was one that made people lock their doors a little more carefully and kept everyone inside when the street lights came on.

That includes a certain son of Ra who works for a SWAT team in North Carolina.

It was after midnight when Phoenix first heard a small sound coming from the kitchen of his two-bedroom home he shared with his wife and son. At first, he pushed it off as something randomly falling over since he was half-asleep since getting back from a mission. But after the second time, he instantly woke up and grabbed his taser he kept near his bed.

He slowly got out of bed, not waking his wife as he opened his door and silently began walking down the hallway of the one-story home. He kept his breath slow and steady as he entered the living room, only a room away from the kitchen now.

He looked side to side, knowing their maybe one than one intruder if there was a robbery going on, as he kneel down at the corner where the living and dining room connected. He looked around the corner and saw nothing, getting back up on his feet as he made no noise at all and walked through the dining room as quickly as possible.

As he swiftly walked through the dining room and placed a foot inside the kitchen, he saw a figure kneeling down at one of the cabinets. Even in the dark, he could see that the fgure was pulling random pots and pans out.

The thirty-year-old man glared at the figure as he walked further into the kitchen and called out, "This is SWAT team officer, Phoenix Chandler. You have ten seconds to stand up and put your hands behind your back before I taser you."

Instantly, like the intruder knew what was coming, it jumped up to full size and Phoenix almost dropped his taser at the sight of the so-called intruder, turning on the kitchen lights to see who it really was.

It was his seven-year-old son, Heilos. The child's wide amber eyes were full of fear and his shaggy black hair was mesier than usual, going halfway down his neck and its "beak" shape in the front was all over his forehead. His skin was a mix of his father's medium skin tone and his mother's dark skin, somewhere between those two skin tones. For his age, he was tall and had even had a slight lean built to him, but he still had that baby fat on him like any other kid. He wore a brown short-sleeved t-shirt that had a cartoon flame on the front with black boxers and a stuffed eagle in his hands.

Phoenix sighed for he was very tired and asked his son, "Heilos, what are you doing up so late? It's almost one o'clock in the morning."

"I woke up and wanted to get something to drink. I couldn't reach the top cabinet, so I was trying to move some of the pans so I can climb onto the counter." Heilos said in a sleepy tone as he rubbed one eye.

Phoenix smiled slightly as he put the taser on the counter and walked over to the top cabinet where they kept the cups. He grabbed a cup as Heilos grabbed the milk from the fridge, letting his father take the milk and pour it into the small cup. As he gave back the milk back to Heilos and the seven-year-old put it back into the fridge, the thrity-year-old man gave the small cup to his son.

"There go you, buddy. Now, get back to bed before Mommy comes down here." Phoenix said with a sneaky smile.

"Why should Mommy not come down here?" A woman said behind her husband, causing even the SWAT team agent to jump back in fear.

There stood Jill Chandler, Phoenix's beautiful wife for seven years. Her usual straight black hair was in a mess and her usual sweet green eyes were glaring dangerously at her husband for waking her up. And under her white nightgown was a pregnant belly, only four months along so it wasn't too big yet.

The SWAT agent had nothing to say as the daughter of Demeter grabbed him by the ear. Then she looked down lovingly at her son and said, "Heilos, you go back to bed now. Mommy and Daddy has to talk about the baby."

"Okay, Momma." Heilos said sleepily, walking pass his parents and towards his bedroom.

Once their child was down the hallway and they heard his bedroom door shut, Jill looked at her husband with slightly annoyed eyes. She took him to the table and they sat down, as Jill released her grip on Phoenix's ear and grabbed his hand tenderly.

"Phoenix, you know I have to get at least 8 hours of sleep for the baby. Why did you get up in the middle of the night?" Jill asked in a concern tone.

"Sorry, honey. But I heard a noise and turns out it was Heilos trying to climb on the counter to get a cup. I tried to be quiet because I know you needed some sleep after going to that 6-hour class that your co-workers dragged you to." Phoenix said as he brushed back some of Jill's messy hair.

As her emerald eyes soften, Jill said "Well, I guess since you didn't mean to wake me. I am just so tired because all that baby class taught me was how to the basics of taking care of a baby in just one class. I thought we covered that with Heilos."

Phoenix laughed as he kissed his wife's hand and said, "I know. Here, you go back to bed and I

l'll tuck Heilos in."

Jill smiled back at her husband as she got back up and walked back into their bedroom, turning off the light to the room as she turned on the bathroom light for the first time that night, since she would usually go into the bathroom four times within the whole night every night.

Then, Phoenix got up and followed his wife's path down the hallwat, but instead took a left instead of a right into their son's room.

Heilos was already curled inside his covers, his cheeks pressed against his pillow as he stuggled with his stuffed eagle, which he called Ra after his parental grandfather. Even though his eyes were opening and closing slowly, he saw his father come inside his room and his eyes snapped open while he lifted his head up.

Phoenix smiled as he went over to the bed and kissed his son's head. "Night, buddy." Then he tucked the seven-year-old in, while he placed the small cup Heilos had a little farther away from his son. As the child fell asleep, Phoenix puleld the covers over to his neck and smooth some of Heilos' black hair down.

After the child fell asleep quickly, Phoenix left the bedroom as he heard Jill leave the bathroom and crawl into the bed. He smiled as he opened the bedroom door and walked to the bed, watching his sweet wife fall asleep slowly.

As he crawled into the bed with her, he wrapped a strong arm around under her breasts as her stomach was a little too big for his arm to wrap around anymore. He watched her finally going to sleep again while he smiled and remembered how perfect his life was, even though he had a tough job.

After the show, they had a much easier time seeing each other than the other castmates because they both lived in the South. But after high school, they had to wait to be together offically because Phoenix went to an academy for future SWAT team members. His school was near the army camp Charlie was staying at, even though the rebellious son of Hades had a hard time following the rules unlike his stick-by-the-books best friend.

But then after he graduated the SWAT academy, he found that Jill was now living with her step-mother, whom she basically grew up with instead of knowing Demeter was her mother until the age of thirteen, in Minnesota. He came to her house and they staretd offically dating as Jill went off the North Carolina with her boyfriend.

After college, they both got jobs that fit them both; Phoenix went off to be a SWAT officer because even though he couldn't drive his father's sun bat across the Duat, he still wnated to bring light and order to the world or at least a part of it. His abilities with light and fire came in handy with dealing with criminals. As he went off to dangerous missions, Jill stayed in Burnsville as she started a small company that cartered all-natural, healthly meals.

After only two months, they found out they were expecting their son Heilos. His name came after the Greek Titan of the sun, which fits Phoenix's father being the Egyptian god of the sun and Jill's mother being a Greek god. As they saw their son grow up, they saw that he was a natural leader of his grade and among the children of the casts, if only he could get Seraphina to share the role once and while.

Then, after Heilos' seventh birthday, they found out they were expecting again. Even though Heilos was dying to know if he got a baby sister, wanting to be a protective older brother, they were going to wait until the baby came to know if it was a boy or girl since they had already decorated the room in an unisex fashion.

While the son of Ra thought about whether he would like a daughter so she can be a daddy's girl or another boy to hang out with, Jill moaned in her sleep as she clutched on her husband's arm. He kissed her neck, smiling as she patted his cheek lightly.

"Hey, honey..." Jill asked.

"Yeah?"

"Did you check if the doors were locked?"

For a moment, the whole room was quiet. Jill looked at her husband, who had a slightly annoyed face at his own stupidity. "Phoenix?"

"I'll be back." Phoenix said as he dragged himself out of the bed for second time that night.


	7. The Ocean's Lullaby

Nobody expected a horrific thunderstrom to come crawling in around 4 in the afternoon on the beautiful island of Honolulu. Sure, there has been a few storms here and there on the island, but this one has more dangerous and frightening than anyone has ever experienced, even for a certain daughter of Apollo named Melody Malino, who was just geting home with her husband and young son from a music concert she was performing at.

The palm trees were violently been thrown over by the wind, hitting against one another and their fruits being threat to be pull out of their roots. The sea, which was usually calm and a beautiful shade of blue, was now violently thrashing against the sand and a dark color of grey. The sand was being taken up by the winds and thrown around as well, adding to the dangerous scenery. The rain, wind, thunder, and even the dark grey clouds seem to threat to bring a tornado or even a tsunami to the beautiful island.

At 29 years of age, Melody was running into her home after her music concert, which was suposed to be to fund an orphanage, was cancelled due to the storm. Her husband, 30-year-old Drew Malino, was running in right behind her while holding their son's hand and holding the umbrella over their heads.

Wringing the water from her damp golden locks, Melody looked at the two most important men in her life. Both of them looked tired and wet as Drew shook the umbrella dry over the towel they kept at the front door for when they came back from the beach.

"Are you two okay?" Melody asked her husband and son.

"Yeah. Very wet, but mostly okay." Drew joked lightly as he walked over to his wife and wrapped an arm around her waist. "The thing is, are you upset about the cancellation?"

Melody placed a hand on her husband's chest, sighing in sadness. "Yeah, but I will get over it like I usually do. There will be another concert probably when the storm clears out and they cleaned everything up."

Drew laughed as a small hand tugged on his pants. He looked down to see a three-year-old boy looking up at his parents with huge and innocent eyes. Despite gaining his mother's golden locks, his eyes were mismatching as one eye was blue-violet and one eye was brown. He was pale-skinned like his father, but maybe because it was the child was a very sickly one.

"Mama, Daddy, why is the sky so dark?" Simon Malino asked in his cute toddler voice, rubbing one of his eyes in a sleepy manner.

Melody smiled at their son as she picked him up and held him tightly to her chest. "I will explain in a little bit, but first let's get you all dried up before you get sick."

"Okay..." Simon said as he yawned.

Leaning his head against his mother's shoulder, his eyelids began to flutter close. Drew held back a laugh as he kissed his son's cheek good-night, then kissed his wife's forehead before winking at her playfully.

As the young child fell asleep, Melody pressed her finger to her lips and winked back at her husband as she quietly went up the stairs. She bounced Simon in her arms, trying to comfort him from the thunderstorm.

Usually, the child would be screaming and crying from the lightning and thunder but he was too sleepy from not having his nap two hours ago. If Melody had it her way, she would have placed Simon down for a nap but her manager was adamant about Melody having her fmaily there when she performed.

The young mother entered her son's bedroom, which she fashioned herself from Simon's heavenly grandfathers; the room was mostly a sea theme based off Poseidon but there was a few musical instruments, a small laurel plant and some bright Christmas lights, which were just plain old lights and not multicolored ones, hanging from the ceiling to represent Apollo. But what made Melody the most proud was that she got paintings of the two grandfathers, one for each, hanging from the walls.

Melody tapped Simon's rosy cheek, waking up her son fom his sleepy state.

"Okay, sweetheart, you get dressed while Mommy goes get some dry clothes on." Melody said as she kissed her son's forehead.

She put him on the ground as Simon nodded his head and said, "Okay, Mama." Then he began looking around his room for clothes.

Melody smiled at her son as she left him to find clothes, which involve throwing some dirty clothes in the corner. She left the room and kept the door cracked open so she can returned back in easily, in case Simon regained his senses and got scared by the thunder.

The minute she left the room, a pair of arms wrapped around her and pinned her to the wall next to the toddler's bedroom door.

"Drew, not near Simon's room." Melody chastited her husband as she held his wrists down.

"Oh, come on. I have been waiting all day to get you alone." Drew begged with puppy dog eyes that melted his wife's heart.

But Melody stood her ground as she said, "No, honey. Let's wait until Simon is asleep at least before we do anything. The last thing we need him to see is us half-naked and about to have sex in the hallway."

"Ugh, why must you make sense?" Drew whined playfully.

"Because I am the daughter of Apollo, god of sunlight and truth." Melody said playfully as she kissed her husband on the nose. "But if you behave until he is-"

A huge clap of thunder interrupted her, following with a small voice crying out "MAMA! DADDY!" in total and utter fear.

Right away, the young couple opened the bedroom door to find Simon under his blanket. shaing in fear and tears streaming down his face. The child was already dressed in his blue onesie and holding his stuffed raven, Wings as he called it, close to his chest like it was a lifeline.

Drew walked up to the small bed and picked up his son into his muscular arms. Rocking the child, the son of Poseidon said in a hushed tone "It's okay. The storm is not going to come inside and hurt you."

"But it is so scary! It makes the house shake!" Simon cried into his father's shirt.

"It's fine. Daddy is here." Drew said as he smooth out Simon's unruly blonde locks. "The storm is not going to hurt you."

Simon nodded his head as he wiped his tears away, holding his stuffed raven tightly. Drew began rocking the child asleep when Melody had a brilliant idea that would help Simon sleep and make him no longer afraid of storms like this one.

With a smile planted on her face, Melody walked over to her husband and tapped his shoulder. Drew looked at her for a moment a she whispered something into his ear, a smile forming on his face as well as he handed her their son. Simon looked up at his mother as she sat in the rocking chair she still had in his room.

"Sweetie, I know something that will make the storm stop."

"What is that, Mama?"

"I'm going to sing you a lullaby my mother used to sing to me. Whenever a storm scares you, just think of this song and you will calm down."

Simon's eyes lit up as he looked at his mother with interest, holding his stuffed raven close. Drew smiled as he got up and walked out of the room, but kept the door cracked a little so he can hear what was going on.

Melody brushed back her son's unruly locks as she began a song that her own mother taught her.

_Close your eyes, you're not alone_

_Let the ocean be your home_

_The waves will protect you from any harm_

_Let the ocean take you in its arms_

_Calm and safe is what the waters will be for you_

_It is wide as your heart, the ocean blue_

_There will be no harmful jokes or cruel words_

_Just a peaceful place where you are the pearl_

_Sleep peacefully, my child, you are in a safe place_

_Dream happily, my child, as there is no reason for haste_

_The ocean shall never harm you, even on the worst day_

_The ocean shall love you as long as you are here to stay._

As soon as the song was over, Simon's eyes began to flutter close despite the raging storm outside. Melody kissed his forehead and got up to lay him down, but first winked at her husband to go on to take a shower as she made sure 100% that Simon was asleep. Drew nodded his head as he left the doorway and went into the bathroom.

While her husband took a much needed shower, Melody covered Simon's little body under the racecar-theme covers. While he fell deeper into sleep, Melody brushed back some locks and began to realize how lucky she was despite the storm ruining her concert.

After Drew was kicked off and found her at the camp where the eliminated students went to, they finally confessed to each other how they felt thanks to the help (if not unwanted on some parts) of Charlie, Phoenix, and Danny. But they were grateful for the help as it was the happiest either one of them has been in a long time.

But like most couples, they were separated by distance and had to put their relationship on the backburner for a while as they tried to figure out how to be together.

Then after two years of struggling, Melody was able to save up enough money from her mini-concerts to buy an apartment near whatever college she went to. Of course, she opted for the college in Los Angeles because of their musical history and did not have enough money for the cheapest small apartment, which cost $12,000 at the least.

Until she bumped into Drew, who already had an apartment and was going to another school a few miles from where he lived. Despite Melody telling him she was fine going back to Hawaii, he was determined to let her stay at his apartment while he moved back with his grandparents.

So, they came upon a deal; if she paid half of what she had, then Drew will get his grandparnets to pay the rest since Melody was determined not to live with him until they were married. Agreeing upon this, Drew got his grandparents to pay for a much smaller yet cheaper apartment that costed $6,000 and $100 for rent.

After only completeing two years at the university she picked, a music producer of a small company heard her singing over the Internet and signed her to the label as an independant artist. Even though she was reluctant to join, not wanting to become a star after a bully told her she would become a big-headed and greedy bimbo, Melody was secretly happy that she got her dream career.

The only setback is that she would have to jumpstart her career be opening for other artists, which meant she would have to go on a tour for a whole year.

But the always sweet Drew waited for her again, making ehr feel even more gulity because she didn't want to leave him again. So, after the tour was over, she told her manager she would only do a cross-country concert ever once and while, with her other concerts having to be close to her.

When that came to an agreement, Melody decided to work in a small music store while Drew finall set up his own bar in Malibu, where the two moved to after college. Then, after five years of marriage, they finally had their son Simon. The boy turned out to be as sweet as his parents with a habit of telling the truth like his mother, but the poor thing did get scared easily.

Melody smiled as her son finally was knocked out, snoring lightly and clutching Wings in his arms. The storm lifted up a little, just in time for Simon to have a peaceful nap before supper. She got up and smooth out her white dress, leaving the bedroom in hushed footsteps.

As soon as she closed the door, Drew came out of the shower in a grey t-shirt and his white boxers that had clovers all over them. Melody covered her mouth at the sight of her husband's _"lucky" _underwear, earning her a sneaky look from Drew as he stuck out his tongue at her.

"It's not funny." Drew said while rolling his eyes and smirking.

"It is too funny. To think after thirteen years, you still wear clover boxers for luck." Melody said back with a smile. She walked over to her husband, wrapping her arms around his waist and adding to the conversation, "But I think you look utterly handsome in them."

"Geez, thanks Mel." Drew said as he kissed his wife's nose. He looked at her lovingly for a moment as he asked, "How is Simon? Did you get him to sleep alright?"

"Yeah. I told you that song would work."

"And I didn't doubt you for a second."

Melody laughed as she rested her head on Drew's chest, completely happy that her concert was cancelled for once.


End file.
